University of Queensland develops bovine trichomoniasis vaccine

A form of venereal disease found in cattle, bovine trichomoniasis can cause infertility in herds leading to the potential loss of millions of dollars for producers.

Developed by the University of Queensland, the experimental vaccine would be a first in Australia and could help mitigate the disease and help improve the fertility of bulls across the country.

Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation Professor Ala Tabor said vaccines were available in other countries, but this was the first Australian-made vaccine for the disease.

"When you import a vaccine, it has to be quarantined and the animals treated with it aren't allowed into the food chain, so it is more efficient and practical to manufacture the vaccine in Australia," Professor Tabor said.

"If we can get local strains of the disease and develop them into a vaccine, it's effective, safer and easier - there's no quarantine and the animals can enter the food chain."

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The inspiration behind the development of the vaccine was prompted by the results from a survey for the disease led by Professor Michael McGowan from UQ's School of Veterinary Science, revealing that bulls at abattoirs from all of Australia's major beef breeding regions, and more than one in 10 bulls in northern regions, were infected.

"Bovine trichomoniasis is caused by a protozoa carried by bulls and is transmitted to females during mating," Professor Tabor said.

"This can make cows infertile or cause them to abort."

QAAFI senior research fellow Dr Kieren McCosker helped collect samples from bulls' reproductive tracts.

These samples were then cleaned and analysed.

"If a successful vaccine is developed out of this, it could be an important development," Dr McCosker said.

"In North Australian beef herds, losses from confirmed pregnancy to weaning are typically in the order of five to 15 per cent and are estimated to cost the industry between $60 and $100 million a year.

"While not solely responsible, at the level of prevalence recently reported for bovine trichomoniasis, the disease is likely to be contributing to this reproductive inefficiency.

"Having a vaccine for beef producers to help manage that would be a very welcome outcome."

After work on the project was carried out by QAAFI, UQ and the Pinjarra Hills Research Facility, Professor Tabor will now work with Meat and Livestock Australia as well as other commercial industry partners to conduct larger trials.